Multiple Choice Test

Multiple Choice: Please pick one.
Jesus said "all men will know you are my disciples if __________"
 (a) You have a world class marketing strategy
 (b) Your ministry is branded perfectly
 (c) You've achieved doctrinal purity
 (d) You are theologically sound
 (e) You speak the truth
 (f) You're right
 (g) You are an apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor or teacher
 (h) You operate in spiritual gifts
 (i) You love one another

Seven Characteristics of Spiritual Abuse

From “The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse” by David Johnson and Jeff VanVonderen

1. Shame-based Relationships: People learn to be or act powerless. Shame is not the same as guilt, a constructive signal which is an emotional indication of wrong actions or attitudes. Shame is a destructive signal about your personal worth, a belief or mindset that you are a bad and worthless person. (pp. 54-55)

2. Performance Focus: With this focus, how people act is more important than who they are or what is happening to them on the inside. (p. 56)

3. Idolatry: The "god" served by the shame-based relationship is an impossible-to-please judge, who obsesses on people's behavior from a distance, and is more concerned about appearance, how things look, what people think and where the power is. (p. 57)

4. Preoccupation with Fault and Blame: Forgiveness and personal apology are not enough when things go wrong, people have to pay for their mistakes and feel so defective and humiliated that they won't act that way anymore. (p. 58)

5. Obscured Reality: In shame-based systems, members have to deny any thought, opinion or feeling that is different than those of people in authority. Interaction with people and places outside the system threatens the order of things; the system (or organization) defines reality. Problems are denied or minimized, and therefore they remain (unless things change, they remain the same). (p. 58)

6. Centralized Teaching: What is true is decided on the feelings or experiences of the religious leadership, giving more weight to them than to what the Bible says. People can't know or understand spiritual truth until the leaders "receive them by spiritual revelation from the Lord" or "until the timing is right" or "until the people are ready", at which time the spiritual leaders "impart" these truths to the people. (p. 70)

7. Image Management: Image managers are more concerned with how they look to other people, and in a shame-based system, religious leaders are loathe admitting error and slow to admit the truth. What counts less is the substance of the spiritual material, and more on how it looks and makes people feel. (pp. 131-136)

Bad News About Your Pastor

Bad News About Your Pastor

by Rich Murphy

The bad news is this: pastors today are faced with more stress, more problems and more challenges than ever before. Statistics today are frightening. More and more pastors are leaving the ministry. Why? Because they are human, and can't be everything that everyone expects them to be.


We, the church, are expecting pastors to be many things that they aren't called to be. Instead of allowing God to define their ministry, we've created our own definition. This definition takes him from being our spiritual leader and protector, and made the pastor into our baby sitter and servant.


Take a look at these alarming statistics:


Fifteen hundred pastors leave the ministry each month due to moral failure, spiritual burnout or contention in their churches.


Four thousand new churches begin each year, but over seven thousand churches close.


Fifty percent of pastors' marriages will end in divorce.


Eighty percent of pastors and eighty-four percent of their spouses feel unqualified and discouraged in their role as pastors.


Fifty percent of pastors are so discouraged that they would leave the ministry if they could, but have no other way of making a living.


Eighty-five percent of pastors said their greatest problem is they are sick and tired of dealing with problem people, such as disgruntled elders, deacons, worship leaders, worship teams, board members, and associate pastors. Ninety percent said the hardest thing about ministry is dealing with uncooperative people.


Seventy percent of pastors feel grossly underpaid.


Eighty percent of pastors' spouses feel their spouse is overworked.


Eighty percent of pastor' wives feel left out and unappreciated by the church members.


Eighty percent of pastors' spouses wish their spouse would choose another profession.


Eighty percent of pastors' wives feel pressured to do things and be something in the church that they are really not.


The majority of pastor's wives surveyed said that the most destructive event that has occurred in their marriage and family was the day they entered the ministry.


The bad news is that your pastor, like pastors everywhere is at risk of becoming just another statistic. He is expected to do so much, be so much, and give so much that many times there is nothing left for him. We, the church, can't afford to keep losing pastors to burnout and contention.

What Can You Do?

Pray For Your Pastor


The greatest gift you can give your pastor is to take the time to pray for him. We need to realize that pastors and other ministers are prime targets for the devil. If he can cause a believer to fall, it's a victory for his kingdom. But, if he can cause a minister to fall, he can hurt the lives of many other believers. We have a responsibility before God to hold up our leaders in prayer, and seek God's protection over their lives.


Be Reasonable in Your Expectations


Too many people expect the pastor to be everything. I have heard stories about people expecting their pastor to pick up their children from school, talk to them when they can't sleep, mow their lawn, and fix their car. God has given specific instructions about what a pastor is supposed to be. Let him be it, and protect the calling and anointing God has placed upon his life.


Compensate Him Appropriately


There's an old line about the church board praying something like this, "Lord, you keep our pastor humble, and we'll keep him poor." That attitude is way too common. Pastors and their families have the same financial needs as everyone else in the congregation. In fact, they often have more expenses, because of the needs of visiting people and ministering to them.


When God established the tithe, he said that it was to go to the Levites (the ministers); not to pay for the mortgage on the church, the electric bill, and the youth field trip. At that time, the Levites consisted of about seven percent of the population of Israel. Therefore, if everyone tithed, the Levites received a little more than the average income of the congregation.


This is a good guideline for us to use today. A pastor should receive slightly more than the average income of his congregation. That will allow his family to live and minister without having to worry about money.


Respect His Privacy and Time


So often, being a pastor is a 24-hour a day job. Granted, there are always emergencies that come up at the most inopportune times. But, a hangnail, or the flu isn't an emergency. Your pastor needs time to study, time to pray, time to rest, and time to be with his family.


Pastor's children have become a joke in our society today. Although the church expects them to be perfect, the world expects them to be hellions. Why? Because, they usually are. Why? Because dad is so busy taking care of everyone else, he doesn't have time for his own family. Don't expect him to give up his wife and children, to take care of yours. That's your job.


Let Your Pastor, and His Wife Know You Appreciate Them


Everyone needs some encouragement now and then. One of the motivational gifts mentioned in Romans 12: 6-8 is exhortation. This gift is badly lacking in the Body of Christ today. It is especially lacking towards those in ministry. We expect them to encourage us, forgetting that they need it as well. A kind, or encouraging word, a card, or even a small gift will work wonders to build up your pastor and help him to continue in the calling God has given him.


Don't let your pastor become a statistic. Be a blessing to him, so he can continue to be a blessing to you.


These statistics came from across denomination lines, and have been gleaned from various sources such as Pastor to Pastor, Focus on the Family, Ministries Today, Charisma Magazine, TNT Ministries, Campus Crusade for Christ and the Global Pastors Network.

Life-Line For Pastors is a publication of Maranatha Life

P.O. Box 1206, Donna, TX 78537

http://www.MaranathaLife.com

Copyright © 2002 by Richard A. Murphy,  Maranatha Life  All rights reserved.

Any Christian church or ministry may make copies of Life-Line for free distribution.

Our address and copyright information must be included on these copies.

What I Want To Do

This is what I want to do in 5 simple steps

1. I want to be a friend of God.
2. I want to comprehensively experience God's extravagant love for me.
3. I want to love people as extravagantly as I have been loved.
4. I want to introduce my extravagantly loving Friend to everyone I know.
5. I want to help others experience this ongoing love affair for themselves.

What do you want to do?

Why vs. What

The Man I Want To Be

Loving People Different Than You

Dave Gibbons: Engaging in 3rd Culture Mission [VERGE 2010 Main Session] from Verge Network on Vimeo.

Bait and Switch

Bait and Switch

By Wayne Jacobsen

BodyLife • May 2009

Trading the Vibrant Life of Jesus for a Ritualistic Religion Called Christianity.

I saw the sign a year ago in Georgia: Live Free for Three Months. It was a developer's marketing strategy for a declining housing market. When I saw it, however, I wasn't thinking about houses. I thought about Christianity and how we invite people to live free in Christ and then soon after saddle them with all the obligations of being a "good Christian". We generally don't even let them have three months.

When the early believers were first called Christians, we don't know if it was a complement or a mockery. We do know that they didn't invent the term for themselves. The culture called them "little christs" because they had found so much identity in following Jesus. Whatever spawned the term, those early believers adopted it for themselves and for 2,000 years it has been the dominant identifier for those who claim to follow Christ. But that might be changing.

Recent surveys show even believers are becoming uncomfortable with the term. At least in the United States it is increasingly used not for people who reflect the passion of Jesus in a broken world, but for adherents of a religion that has been built on a distortion of the life and teaching of Jesus, not necessarily it's reality. The results can be confusing.

"Are you a Christian?" I used to love it when someone on a plane asked me that question. "Absolutely," I'd answer, proud to be on the side of all that's good and right in the world. But over the last fifteen years, answering that question has become far more difficult. Much of what has been done in recent years in the name of Christianity embarrasses me and disfigures the God I love. Some of it even horrifies me.

So now when I'm asked the question today, I hedge a bit. "It depends on what you mean by 'Christian'," I often respond. If they are asking whether or not I am a faithful adherent of the religion called Christianity, I have to confess that I'm not. I'm not even trying to be. But if they are asking me if I am a passionate follower of Jesus, the answer would be an enthusiastic yes.

In a few short years those realities have diverged significantly. Perhaps there has not been a time since the Middle Ages, where what it means to be a good Christian and what it means to thrive in a relationship with God, couldn't be more at odds. You can do everything required of a 'good Christian' in our day and still miss out on what it means to know him and be involved in a meaningful relationship with him that transforms you to love as he loved.

How many people endure repetitive rituals certain that doing so endears them to God? How many embrace a slate of ethical rules or doctrinal propositions thinking that doing so ensures God's blessings? Jesus offered us a vibrant life of relationship with his Father, and we ended up creating a religion that often disarms that very Gospel of its glory.

"These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men." (Mark 7:6-7) These words are as true for us today as when Jesus voiced them to the religious captives in his. His warnings in Matthew 23 about the pitfalls of religion, are more applicable in our day than they were in his. When is the last time you heard a sermon from that text? Read it. You'll know why.

Something Is Broken

For the last few months I've done numerous radio interviews for people concerned about what's being called the collapse of Christianity. Newsweek did a cover article in April about the collapse of Christianity's influence in America and that fewer people identify themselves as Christian or are a committed part of a local congregation.

There's a lot of handwringing going on about those statistics, most of them blaming the culture. But the problems in religion itself have never been greater. Conservative Christianity aligned itself with a political agenda and a party that turned out to be as corrupt as it blamed the other party for being. More and more believers I know are embarrassed at the anger and arrogance of many so-called leaders who speak to the press on behalf of Christianity. So it's no wonder to me that last year 4000 churches closed in America, 1700 pastors left the ministry each month and another 1300 pastors were terminated by their church, many without cause, and over 3500 people per day left their church last year.

Clearly we have a problem that cannot be blamed on the secularization of our culture. The kingdom is no longer a pearl of great price, and knowing Jesus is no longer the fruit of our religious activities. And people who are beginning to see that, are often marginalized as rebellious or unsubmitted for simply wanting what Jesus promised them.

Many people giving up on local institutions are not doing so because they've rejected Jesus, but finding that the culture of Christianity is actually diminishing their faith not enhancing it. In an email I got the other day, from a frustrated pastor trying to help people follow Jesus, and is just coming to realize that his own job may be at odds with his greatest passion. "Church has become a hindrance to building relationships and loving others."

He's not alone. Many of us came to faith enamored by the life and teachings of Jesus. We were promised a relationship with God but were handed a religion of doctrines we had to believe, rituals we had to observe, obligations we had to meet and a standard of morality to adopt. While most of those were true enough, many found that their attempts to follow them did not produce either the life of Jesus it promised, nor the reality of true, caring communities of faith.

We have traded the simple power of the Gospel for a religion based on human effort. We were invited to relationship and ended up with a host of irrelevant dogma and burdensome obligations. Fortunately people from all over the world are waking up to a fresh hunger to shed the dictates of religion and embrace the wonder and power of a love-filled relationship with the living God.

Was Christianity Ever Meant to Be a Religion?

I guess all of this begs the question, did Jesus intend to start a religion called Christianity, or did we do this to ourselves? I suspect the latter. I am wholeheartedly convinced that he came to end all religions, not by lashing out against them, but by filling up in the human spirit what religion promises to fill but never can. Religion seeks to manipulate human effort to earn God's approval, when such approval can never be earned.

Abraham, a Jewish man, lead the tour portion of a trip to Israel I was on fifteen years ago. Some of those on the tour had been rude to his faith as they tried to "help" him embrace Jesus as the Messiah. On the last morning, I found him alone by the bus and had the chance to ask him if he'd been offended by some of the remarks.

He smiled. He told me he'd been guiding tours for 30 years and someone is always trying to convert him to their faith--Christians, Reformed Jews, Muslims and Mormons. Then he asked me, "Do you know why it makes no difference to me?"

I shook my head. He led me out to the street and pointed at a building, "Do you see that synagogue with the star of David? That's our building. The one over there with the cross on it is yours. Further down, do you see the dome? That's theirs. On the surface they may look different, but underneath they are all basically the same. You would think that if one of us was serving the Living God, it would look differently."

I still remember how much his words impacted me. Religion is the same all over the world. It is a prescribed set of doctrine, rules, rituals, and ethics. It celebrates sacred space, exalts holy-men as gurus and tries to muscle its way into the culture. For 2000 years many have practiced Christianity as a religion, essentially no different than the others, except in who it claims to follow. But if one of us was serving a Living God, wouldn't it look very different?

When we cram the life of God into a box, we rob it of its life and power and only distinguish it from other religions by claiming a more truthful doctrine. Could that be why Jesus didn't teach his disciples how to gain a following or build institutions. He didn't teach them how to meet on Sunday mornings at 10:00 with a worship band and a leader to lecture the others. He didn't give them a prescribed set of behaviors that people were suppose to follow as the means to serve God.

No, he invited them into his Father's house, and a reality of relationship with his Father that would transform them and opened the way for them to share that love with others. That you can't put into a religion and trying to only chokes out any hope of relationship. Putting creed and doctrine above a growing friendship with him supplants the reality he offered us, no matter how correct our doctrine or moral our ethics.

Don't get me wrong. Truth is vital, as is righteousness, but without love they are also empty. Learning to live as a beloved child is far more transforming than the greatest principle you can follow. The life of Christian community isn't found by sharing religion together, but by embracing a journey of growing relationship with him that transforms us by his grace and power.

Losing Your Religion

What does this mean for us? Should we stop calling ourselves Christian or judge those who do? Should we come up with a new term to franchise so we could separate the ones who live it relationally from the ones who are caught up in religion? If we did, we'd only be making the same mistakes that have diminished our life in Jesus over the centuries.

The truth is that Christianity as a religion is a dangerous disfigurement of the God of the Bible. But not all who call themselves Christians live religiously. Given all the excesses and failures of Christianity, I am delightfully grateful that the Gospel of Jesus is still relatively intact inside its doctrine. Unfortunately it only lets new believers live free for so long before burdening them with religious obligations.

And I meet many believers and leaders who have a profound faith and are seeking healthy ways to communicate that journey with others. I rejoice in that, as I do the amount of compassionate aid that such groups share with the world in need. But too many people miss out on the life Jesus offered them by practicing it as a religion instead of growing to know him.

Ultimately the transformation from practicing religion to living inside a relationship with God is not an institutional battle; it is a personal one. We could tear apart all of our religious institutions today and nothing would change. I've been in many a house church filled with people who see the institutional church as the problem and are oblivious to the fact that they've just moved their religion into a home, where close fellowship only makes it more oppressive.

• When God is a distant concept to you instead of a real presence.
• When you find yourself following another man, woman, or a set of principles instead of following Jesus.
• When fear of eternity, not measuring up, or falling into error drives your actions.
• When you find yourself in empty rituals that do not connect you in a real way to him.
• When you are burdened by the expectations of others and feel guilty when you can't do enough.
• When you look at others who struggle with contempt instead of compassion.
• When the approval of others means more to you than remaining in the reality of his love.
• When you hesitate to be honest about your doubts or struggles because others will judge you.
• When you think of holiness as an unachievable duty, rather than aglorious invitation.
• When you think righteousness depends on your efforts instead of his grace working in you.
• When following him is more about obligation than affection.
• When correcting someone's doctrine is more important than loving them.
• When God seems more present on Sunday morning, than he does on Monday.

If you have only known Christianity to be a set of doctrines, rules and rituals, I have great news. Jesus came and died to open up access between you and his Father. Religion supplants that, distracting us with discipline, commitment and hard work that never yields the fruit it promises. If you've been worn out by religion, don't think you're alone. Others are just pretending, afraid they are the only ones, too. Life is only found in him.

Switching Back

There's something about our flesh that craves the illusion of safety that religion affords. Anyone of us can find our heart easily turned toward following rules instead of engaging him. When we recognize that happening, we can simply turn our hearts back to him and choose to move away from the religious traps and connect once again with God as our Father.

Living the Gospel means we live in his love. We come to know the Father's love for us and then sharing that love with him, and with others he puts in our path. (John 13:34-35). No other motive will suffice; no other is necessary. This is where the journey begins and this is the only place it can continue.

Returning to our first love isn't as difficult as we like to make it. For me it just means finding a quiet place and talking to God. When you find yourself caught in religion, tell him you're tired of chasing a religion that isn't working and you want to know him as he really is. Then, wake up each day with a similar prayer on your heart. Watch how he makes himself known to you in the simple reality of living each day. Follow the nudges he puts on your heart instead of the obligations and rituals. Find others who are on this journey and find ways to share the reality of a growing relationship and help guard our hearts about following into empty religious practices.

If you've been steeped in religion for a long time, you'll find yourself going through a very disorienting time. One woman I met called it a Pharisectomy, which is simply having your inner Pharisee removed. You might feel guilty, lonely, lost, or fearful in the process. Your former religious friends may feel threatened that you're no longer doing the things they do. But in time you'll find yourself sliding into the reality of relationship with him that is as increasingly real, transformative and engaging.

Among It, Not of It

So let's not go to war with religion, railing against its failures fighting against its dictates. Instead let's do what Jesus did--let's live beyond it. Let's find a reality of freedom and authenticity in him that can walk alongside anyone with patience and gentleness. Religion is what people crave when they haven't found life in him. Taking their religion away won't fix that. The only thing that will is helping them see a reality of relationship with God that makes all our religious activity unnecessary and unattractive. Jesus could be in religious settings and not be captured by them. He could care about a Pharisee as much as a prostitute.

Live among religion if he asks you to, loving toward those mired in it but you never have to be of it. The Gospel opens the door for us to re-engage the transcendent God, to know him as our Abba and to walk with him through the twists and turns of life, sharing his affection with others.

Live in the reality of that relationship and you'll find it quite naturally finding expression through you as you love and treat others the same way God treats you. People who refuse to live to fear, conform to ritual or put doctrine above love will find themselves having ample opportunity to help others on this journey as well. A dear friend wrote me recently who was feeling a bit swamped by all the people seeking out his help these days, "You didn't say anything about being safe is like hanging up a "counseling available" shingle."

We live in a great day. The emptiness of tradition is being seen for what it is and people are hungering for the reality of relationship. Live there each day and there's no telling where that will take you or who you'll end up walking alongside as Jesus becomes your life.

Then you can live free, not just for a few days or even three months. He came to set you free eternally!

BodyLife is published periodically by Lifestream Ministries and is sent free of charge to anyone whorequests it. For those with email we recommend our web-based version so that we can hold down costs and get it to you much more quickly. This is especially important for international subscribers.

© Copyright 2010 Lifestream Ministries
Permission is herby granted to anyone wishing to make copies for free distribution.

Engaging Secular Culture

I just read a thought provoking article in the Summer 2009 edition of Cutting Edge Magazine. It's a church planting publication put out by The Vineyard. The article titled "Engaging Secular Culture" (found on pages 19-23) is an interview with Charles Park. Charles pastors The River, a Vineyard Church in NYC. It's a bit long but well worth the read.

Here's a few questions for you...

• Which box do you want to be in?
• Do you want to swim in the Red Ocean or the Blue Ocean?
• Do you want to be Dell or Apple?

I'd love to know your thoughts.

Enjoy,

Tom

No More Infomercial Christianity

To all my colleagues in "the ministry" when we utilize hype, exaggeration or manipulation to communicate our message, promote our ministries or ask for financial support; we do more harm than good to God's Kingdom. The collateral damage is spiritually devastating to the churched, the unchurched and the post churched. It's wrong, it's deceptive, it's sin and it's time to stop it!

When we hype the supernatural we're actually desensitize people to the real presence and power of God. Using hype to promote ourselves or advance ministry is selfish and deeply damaging the work of Christ around the world. It would be better to do nothing than to employ these deceptive models. Enough is enough. No more infomercial Christianity. It's time to walk the walk.

The Shrinking 40%

The Shrinking 40%

by Tim Stevens


In the book, The Forgotten Ways, author Alan Hirsch identifies a problem that I’ve been wrestling with for several months now.


He says that the way we do church is working with fewer people all the time. What does the way we do church mean? It means the model of Christendom that has been followed for the past 1700 years or so and that most of us are a product of is becoming quickly ineffective in today’s world. I’m not talking styles of worship, high church or low church, mainline or independent, protestant or catholic. I’m talking about all of those churches combined. Just about every church in America can be described by three words: “Come to us.” That is it. We put on amazing services and do everything we can to communicate truth to the people who make the effort to come to “the box” for worship.

Let me explain it this way…


The Shrinking 40% - these are people for whom the “come to us” model works. We can put on great weekend services, and 40% of the people in our community are still attracted to, or at least not repelled by, that model. For some communities on the left or right coast—this may actually be 20% or less. Hirsch believes it might be 35% for America overall. For our church in northern Indiana, we are still relatively insulated from the coastal influence—and we believe it could be around 40%. Whether the correct number is 40% or 50% or higher—there probably isn’t a place in America where this number isn’t shrinking.


The Growing 60% – these are people who believe in God (whatever that means for them), have a respect for Jesus, and are on a spiritual journey, but they don’t consider the church (as we know it) as a resource to help them take steps. And it is likely they never will. They pursue their spirituality through culture, friendships, music, TV personalities, their own study of the Bible, self-help books and more.Research indicates “young adults today are less church-connected than prior generations were when they were in their 20s. But…they’re just about as spiritual as their parents and grandparents were at those ages.” An even newer study published a couple weeks ago indicates if the current trends continue, “the Millennial generation will see churches closing as quickly as GM dealerships,” this according to Thom Rainer, president of LifeWay Christian Resources. In the group’s survey of 1,200 18- to 29-year-olds, 72% say they’re “really more spiritual than religious.”


Here’s what I think we should do about the Shrinking 40% — I think we should still create amazing church services and knock the ball out of the park on everything we do inside the box. Why would we not? It’s working for a huge percentage of our community! We should do whatever works to attract them, introduce them to Jesus, help them grow in their faith, and motivate them to make a difference in the world.

But I don’t think we can ignore the Growing 60%. Up until now, I honestly don’t think I ignored them. I just didn’t think about them. I’m a statistics guy, and it is the statistics (that I talked about earlier) which are waking me up to a missional problem. Now that I’m aware of the Growing 60% –I can either ignore them (and in reality tell them to go to Hell), or I can do something about it.


I don’t even know what that means. I just know that as churches we have to figure out how to deliver the gospel of Jesus in a way that doesn’t require them to come to the box. Because attracting people to come to the box is only working for a Shrinking 40%. And the Growing 60% will never be reached that way.

It’s not either/or. It’s finding the genius of the AND.

What to Do When You Disagree with Your Pastor

So you find yourself in disagreement with church leadership, what can you do? What are your options?

1. You can stay in the church, keep your mouth shut and continue to disagree. This might work... for a while. Over time it could however, become an issue of personal character and integrity, depending on the nature of the disagreement.
2. You can stay and try to influence change as trust is earned and favor is granted. Maybe you're there to intercede?
3. You can stay and change your opinion so that you agree with church leadership.
4. You can choose to submit - even in disagreement, trusting God and the leader.
5. You can stay and make trouble via gossip, complaining and innuendo. This is rebellion and lawlessness, I strongly encourage you to reject this option.
6. You can leave and make trouble as you go, maybe create division by taking a group of people with you. This too is rebellion and lawlessness. I strongly encourage against this option as well.
7. You can wait until God releases you and then leave well, with a blessing..If you feel you must leave, this is the best option for you. 

Bottom line is this... with a pure heart ask God what he wants you to do and then go and do that very thing with with humility and in love.

A couple of parting thoughts...

1. Even if we do not respect the leadership God has placed over us (Rom.13:1), we can still treat them with honor. And we should.
2. I heard someone say once that even though we may have a bad father we can still choose to be good sons.

I hope this helps some of the struggling sheep out there. Please leave a comment and let me know if this was helpful, Also, if you see any additional option that I may have overlooked please let me know what they are, I'll consider adding them to my list, thanks.

(C) Tom Zawacki, 2010

Sunday's Coming

Great satire but will it motivate us to change?
So church folks... Why do we do the things we do?
What needs to change?
What are we waiting for?
Your feedback is welcomed and encouraged.


"Sunday's Coming" Movie Trailer from North Point Media on Vimeo.

Take The Best and Go

Here's an excerpt of Tri Robinson's post "Take The Best and Go"
It's a thought provoking article from a seasoned veteran, a must read for every church leader.

For the full article click HERE

When a movement of God begins, it is a centered set event with few restrictions in place allowing all kinds of people to join in. The centered set phase is an exciting time, generally led by charismatic vision and the exhilaration of life-changing ministry that is fresh and constantly spawning new life. It draws in the churched and unchurched alike. There is salvation of new believers and rededication of faith by those disillusioned or disappointed by past negative church experiences. This life-giving time with all the exuberance of craziness soon leads to an increase of policy and measures of control which closes in the center that once drew people together. Slowly but surely the centered set movement evolves into what Hiebert referred to as a “fuzzy set.” This process happens one decision at a time, each time adding one dot of confinement until the dots become so numerous that they begin to close off the very life that started the movement in the first place. The restricted flow of new life is much like a clogged artery that finally ends in a heart attack stopping life altogether. This is what Hiebert called the “bounded set” and what ultimately causes the death of what was once a dynamic move of God.^[2] John warned us that historically many authentic moves of God gravitate into over structured institutions that are dead for years before they are even aware of it.

As gloomy as this lecture seemed to me when John first presented it, I soon realized his message wasn’t just a message of warning, but one of hope. That’s when he added a second bell-shaped curve that swung upward again from the descending side of the first one. It was then that he exhorted us to “take the best and go.” Knowing that he might not be around when this event was to happen, John challenged us as leaders to be honestly aware of where we were on the curve and make a decision to start over, taking the best of who we were and leaving the worst behind. I’ll never forget sitting there in that large sanctuary along with hundreds of other young developing leaders being shocked as he announced with great passion that when this event occurred he would be the first to go. For me, it was a profound moment and one which I can’t help but revisit at this particular time of my journey.

Do You Need Some Holy Ghost Drāno?

by J. Lee Grady - Fire In My Bones

We can't reach the younger generation with yesterday's stale religion. It's time to unclog our wells. Last week I spoke to a group of ministry leaders associated with a particular Pentecostal denomination in South Carolina. Many of these men and women are hungry for a fresh move of God, but they are also aware that they aren't effectively reaching people for Christ. Most of their small congregations are getting grayer by the day.

I told these folks they have only two options: Change or die.

Using a story from the life of Isaac, I reminded them that we should never build our ministries with only one generation in mind. God identifies Himself as "the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob" (Ex. 3:6, NASB). He wants His work to advance from one generation to the next. And this requires us to be flexible and open to change.

After Abraham's death, Isaac journeyed to the land of Gerar during a famine. While there he rolled up his sleeves and did some backbreaking work. Genesis 26:18 says, "Then Isaac dug again the wells of water which had been dug in the days of his father Abraham, for the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham; and he gave them the same names which his father had given them."

This passage reveals a clear spiritual principle. God wants to open spiritual wells of blessing, but He doesn't want to limit that blessing to one generation. Our enemy loves to stuff our wells with all kinds of garbage—religiosity, tradition, legalism, denominational politics, strife, jealousy, cold-heartedness, pride and immorality. If we want our wells to flow continually, then we must unstop them.

While Isaac did not change the names of Abraham's wells, he renovated them so they could be a blessing to his generation. In the same manner, we must be willing to remodel our ministries (even totally gut them if necessary) so the younger generation will want the drink we offer. We can't change our core message, but we won't effectively reach the Isaac generation with a stale, outdated presentation.

We need an extreme makeover. Here are just a few areas where you may need renovation, remodeling and unclogging:

1. Genuine, authentic spirituality. During the Pentecostal/charismatic movement, we overdosed on hype. We celebrated preachers who wore shiny suits and helmet hair. We thought it was acceptable to push people to the floor during altar ministry times. We developed our own set of strange pulpit mannerisms. But all this must go. Young people today are nauseated by fakery and pretense. We don't have to act weird to be supernatural.

2. Music styles. Worship causes war in some churches because we become so attached to the music of our generation. I want to scream to people my age and older: "It's not about you!" If we want to reach younger people then we must update our playlists. Don't be selfish; you can listen to your golden oldies in the car or at home. But don't build your church services around the music of 1972.

3. Dress codes. Casual Friday has become the norm in most businesses, but a lot of churches never got the memo. Young people feel out of place when everyone looks like they are at a funeral. Many young guys today can't afford to buy a dark suit (nor would they be caught dead wearing one) and most young women don't want to be forced to wear a feathered hat, white gloves or a skirt that covers their ankles. Nothing will clog up your well faster than yesterday's religious garb.

4. Team leadership. The one-man show was the norm in churches in 1980, but we've proven that benevolent dictatorships have no place in the church. That system didn't work and it wasn't biblical. Young people today want interaction and connection. In the New Testament, Paul had a multigenerational, multiethnic team that included men and women (see Rom. 16:1-16). So should we.

5. Relational discipleship. In the past season—which was dominated by television—Christians tended to be spectators who built their spiritual lives around big events. But church will not work that way in the digital age. Young people don't want to learn from a guy who arrives at the church in a limousine, sits on a throne on the stage, preaches from a pedestal and then disappears into his green room. They want a real relationship with a real spiritual father (or mother) who is willing to spend time with them.

6. Technology. You would never go to a foreign country to serve as a missionary without learning its language. Yet today many churches try to reach the younger generation without mastering digital media. Don't be intimidated by change. If a child can use an iPhone you can learn how to tweet. God wants to use all new forms of communication to spread His truth.

Don't get stuck in an old place. The Holy Ghost offers the best Drāno for your clogged wells. Open up your life and ministry to the new things God is doing in this exciting hour.

J. Lee Grady was editor of Charisma for 11 years and is now serving as contributing editor. You can find him on Twitter at leegrady. His new book, The Holy Spirit Is Not for Sale, releases later this month.

Radically Rethinking the Church

Written by Don Williams   

Wednesday, 23 January 2008

I have recently met a quiet, intense radical Christian, Alan Hirsch, who wants to dismantle 1600 years of church history by reconfiguring the church as mission rather than the church as community extending or promoting mission. While this doesn't sound dramatic and seems to follow a whole line of current thinking on the church as a missional community, I assure you that Hirsch will not support most of the hip thinking on this subject today. So here we go, reviewing his book The Forgotten Ways.  We may have more to say on KingdomRain.net as this conversation continues. Stay tuned and join in. First Response, January 2008

Radically Rethinking the Church with Alan Hirsch

Introduction

I have recently met a quiet, intense radical Christian, Alan Hirsch, who wants to dismantle 1600 years of church history by reconfiguring the church as mission rather than the church as community extending or promoting mission. While this doesn't sound dramatic and seems to follow a whole line of current thinking on the church as a missional community, I assure you that Hirsch will not support most of the hip thinking on this subject today. So here we go, reviewing his book The Forgotten Ways.  We may have more to say on KingdomRain.net as this conversation continues. Stay tuned and join in.

Personal Context

Who is Alan Hirsch? He is Australian by birth, Jewish in background, a church planter and a major force in rethinking the nature of the Church and its missional purpose in the world. He begins by tracing some of his own journey. His conviction is that most of what the church does today, traditional and contemporary, is far from Jesus' intension and model.

Historical Context

The early church was Christocentric, missional, decentralized, networked and flexible, penetrating and transforming individuals and structures in the Roman Empire until the Constantinian Establishment in the early 4th Century. Up until then persecution kept the church simple and committed, it necessarily lived close to the cross and had “the feel of a movement.” With Constantine it was legitimized and politicized. As a result it became institutionalized with top-down leadership operating in an authority structure of “command and control.” Thus the church has lived out her life as an extension of Constantine's radical change from organism to organization, from networked, relational communities to legally connected institutions, from mission penetrating the world (a Jesus Movement) to ministry maintaining the flock, etc.

In so far as we see the church today with centralized authoritarian structures we are Constantinian rather than Apostolic. As we picture the church, Constantine continues to be “the emperor of our imaginations.” (66) This has led to its slow erosion in the West. No simple tweaking of the structure will reverse this. “Seeker friendly” and “Emerging, post-modern churches” are still Constantinian. They pursue mission from a central commitment to building the church on an attractional model: gaining new members through comfortable facilities, dynamic leaders, contemporary worship, cultural relevancy, programs for every age group, need responsive services, social concern and even convenient parking. The goal of this philosophy of ministry is to build a church. Mission becomes an extension of an authoritarian, centralized community where peoples' needs are addressed and satisfied. 

From a sheer statistical and sociological analysis, these churches have little impact beyond themselves and no impact across multicultural and multiethnic lines. Therefore, Hirsch calls us to a radical restructuring of our theology and ministry (dethroning Constantine) if we are going to touch today's un-churched masses. The shift from the modern to the post-modern world poses a “significant adaptive challenge” to the church. Current responses leave prevailing assumptions about the church's mission intact. These need to be challenged. We need a new story of the church and its mission. We need to replace Constantine with a “fundamentally alternative imagination.” We must go back to Jesus himself.

Contemporary Context

First, we are subject to a dualistic spirituality, which separates the sacred from the secular. Religion is privatized with a “church-based” deity. This results in practical polytheism with different gods over different spheres of life (Christ is not functionally Lord of all). Second, we live in a consumer culture where “much of that which goes by the name advertising is an explicit offer of a sense of identity, meaning, purpose and community,” (107) the very things the church once offered. Now capitalism and the free marked mediate value. The nation-state mediates protection and provision and science mediates truth and understanding.

In our consumer society “it's easy to see how 'church shopping,' ecstatic worship experiences, and even Christian spirituality can come to reflect the consumerization of faith.” (109) “...the church is forced into the role of being little more than a vendor of religious goods and services.” (110) “Christendom, operating as it does in the attractional mode and run by professionals, was already susceptible to consumerism, but under the influence of contemporary church growth practice, consumerism has actually become the driving ideology of the church's ministry.” “I have come to the dreaded conclusion that we simply cannot consume our way into discipleship.” (110) Hirsch warns, “Don't just make the service and spirituality suit a post-modern audience, start at another place – put the M (mission) in the equation first.” (72)

Response

There must be a fundamental return to the New Testament church and a consequent change in priorities. This begins with the surrender of the traditional church model, which is: Christology produces ecclesiology, which produces missiology (Or Christ comes and builds his church which then moves out in mission.). The New Testament church model must replace this: Christology produces missiology, which produces ecclesiology (Or Christ comes and moves out in mission which then creates communities to serve that mission). This produces church structures, which are flexible, organic, relative and accommodating to the changing cultural context of mission. The missional church forms communities within the social fabric of those it is trying to reach, which are relative to that fabric.

The heart of the Christian faith is “Christocentric monotheism” realigning our loyalties “to God around the person and work of Jesus Christ.” (93) Jesus’ movement is a messianic movement. Discipleship, his central priority, means, “constantly embody(ing) the life, spirituality and mission of its Founder.”  “It will mean taking the (Four) Gospels seriously as the primary texts that define us.” We are to act like Jesus to those outside the faith. (94) Simple Christology has the capacity to rapidly transfer the message along relational lines. It makes the gospel “sneezable” (releasing a good infection). God always works at the fringes of society, which then brings life to the center. Christology defines all that we do: “Jesus Christ, friend of outcasts.”

Every Christian has “apostolic genius” implanted in him or her waiting to be released. Hirsch writes, “Apostolic Genius is the phrase I developed to try to conceive and articulate that unique energy and force that imbues phenomenal Jesus movements in history.” (274) He defines this as “the total phenomenon resulting from a complex of multiform and real experiences of God, types of expressions, organizational structures, leadership ethos, spiritual power, mode of belief, etc.” Like each human cell carrying our DNA, we all have direct access to the full missional apostolic coding, mDNA. We need to reach inside and find it. This includes five essentials for the New Testament church. 

First - disciple making. Here is our fundamental failure. The consumer, attractional church is unable to do this. [I might also add because it carries a large dose of codependency within its leadership.] The medium always becomes the message: the consumer church necessarily makes more passive consumers.   Consumerism and discipleship are at odds. “Both aim at the mastery over our lives.”(110) “Jesus’ [discipleship] strategy is to get a whole lot of little versions of him infiltrating every nook and cranny of society by reproducing himself in and through his people.” (113) The church is to provide “inspirational leadership.” “The quality of the church's leadership is directly proportional to the quality of discipleship.” (119) 

Second - missional-incarnational impulse. “Any church that adopts a missional-incarnational impulse has moved closer to being an authentic Jesus Movement.” (76) Jesus organizes discipleship around mission. “Straightway they [his disciples] are involved in proclaiming the kingdom of God, serving the poor, healing and casting out demons. It is active and direct disciple making in the context of mission.” “Jesus selects a band of disciples, lives his life with them, ministers with them and mentors them... We should not think that we could generate authentic disciples in any other way.” (120)

The evangelistic-attractional model of church obscures Mission. It blocks the outward-bound movement built into the gospel. Incarnational mission includes presence, proximity, powerlessness (servant-hood – love and humility) and proclamation. We are a “message tribe” which is thoroughly contextualized. We take the church to the people rather than bring people to church. “We must seek to develop genuine Jesus communities in the midst of people – an actual functioning part of the existing culture and life of that people group.” (140) “Because it respects the culture and the integrity of a people group, missional-incarnational practice enhances the relational fabric of a given host culture.” (141) “Start with the church and the mission will probably get lost. Start with mission and it is likely that the church will be found.” (143) Groups that come together around a non-missional purpose never become missional. (233) “To forget mission is to forget ourselves.” (237) “One of the most missional things that a church community could do is simply to get out of their buildings and go to where people are.” (240)

Third - Apostolic environment. Apostolic leadership is measured by the effect it has on the social environment in which it operates as it extends the Christian faith. “The apostolic leader...embodies, symbolizes and re-presents the apostolic mission to the missional community. Furthermore, he or she calls forth and develops the gifts and callings of God's people.” (152) Apostolic leaders are “the custodian of apostolic genius.” They move the church from maintenance to mission. They pioneer new ground, guard apostolic theology, network churches, traversing between them, and create an environment in which other ministries emerge. Apostles inspire followers to become leaders in their own right. Their “greatness is to inspire greatness in others.” They provide inspirational leadership rather than transactional leadership (top-down management of staff and resources for an exchange of value). They invite others into a dance that is being choreographed as it is performed. This contrasts with institutional systems that confer social power and concentrate it at the top. “Besides, the servant/slave image of leadership (dis)qualifies all forms of top-down leadership and establishes the bottom-up servant approach.” (165)

Fourth - Organic Systems. Traditionally churches organize around static, mechanistic, institutional paradigm. Roles are managerial for those who “run a church.” But living systems have rhythms and structures, which mirror life itself. All living things have an aptitude for survival, adaptation and reproduction. Information brings change: all living systems respond to information. God's people have everything they need to adapt and thrive in any setting. Missional leadership brings various elements of the system into meaningful relationship, moves the system to deal with the real issues facing it, select the flow of information to help the community respond to the church's primary narrative in the Four Gospels and embrace its core tasks in its essential cultural and social contexts. “Existing relationships with believers and nonbelievers alike become the very fabric of the church.” 

The early church was “pre-institutional.”  “Structures are needed, but they must be simple, reproducible and internal rather than external.” Institutionalization takes on a life of its own. It fails to serve the mission. Centralized authority creates a culture of restraint and dependency where members fail to take responsibility for their own growth or reaching others. Reproducibility needs to be built into the initiating model, setting out to plant reproducing churches. The attractional church model is “simply not reproducible – at least not by the vast majority of average Christians.” (215)

Fifth - Communitas not Community. Communitas is the fellowship of the journey, the road, in the context of danger and a common purpose outside of itself. In China “The Spirit of Jesus activated it in the context of chaos and adaptive challenge.” (78) The middle class wants safety, security, comfort and convenience. It promotes the “gather and amuse” impulse of church growth. (220) But communitas and its companion “liminality” (African tribes taking their youth into adulthood through disorienting rites of passage) “describe the dynamics of the Christian community inspired to overcome their instincts to “huddle and cuddle.” (221) Communitas and liminality denote a dangerous journey, disorientation and marginalization into the unknown. “Liminality and communitas are more the normative situation and condition of the pilgrim people of God.” (222)

Conclusion

“The challenge is not to direct living systems, but to disturb them in a manner that approximates the desired outcome and then for leadership to try and focus the intention by the use of meaning and vision. This process of disturbing the system is a critical function of leadership. It is about creating conditions in which change, adaptation and innovation will take place.” (232-233) “The future is a means to alter behavior.” We are to “manage from the future.” This pulls us out of comfort into chaos, the “now and not yet tension” of the kingdom. 

For myself, I was converted through Young Life, which was (and is) missional at its core. I immediately became an evangelist to my friends because this was the way I understood the Christian life. Along the way I lost a good part of this replacing reaching the lost with pastoring the found. But during the Jesus Movement in the late 1960's reaching the lost again became my passion. I later found that this was John Wimber's heart as well. Now, in the latter days of my life, I am rethinking the whole thing once again. I will have more to share about this in the future as I and we live out the “now and not yet tension” of the kingdom together.